Page 38 of The Duke's Surprise Heir

Edward turned to Macie, gripping her arms. “Will you stay here while we figure this out? This house is the safest place for you right now. And Kyle.”

She smiled at him, her worry vanishing at his assurance. “Yes. We’ll stay here. You’re right. I feel safe here and I can’t imagine anyone would make a connection between you and me.”

Edward sighed, obviously relieved, but his fingers tightened again. “What about if you stayed here…forever?”

Macie held her breath, wondering if she was misunderstanding. “Forever, Edward?”

“Yes,” he breathed, moving closer. “I love having you here. I love being with you.” He kissed her lightly, but pulled away before their passion ignited and things got out of control again. “I…if you feel the same way…I’d like to try making this…permanent.”

Macie heard the way he carefully chose his words and her stomach tightened. “Edward, what are you trying not to say?”

Edward dropped her arms and stepped backwards. Immediately, Macie regretted asking. She loved feeling his hands on her, no matter where they were. She loved being around him, missed him during the day when she hadn’t seen him or spoken to him for a few hours. She loved…him!

He touched his forehead, then ran his fingers through his dark hair, releasing the breath he’d been holding.

“I know that we both shared our past. We both have…issues with marriage.” He looked at her, his eyes intent. “But I want to try with you!”

“Try…what…with me?”

He stared at her for a long moment, as the rapid pounding of her heart sounded in her ears. Finally, he said, “Everything. I want you, here, with me. Forever.”

“Forever,” she repeated, testing out the word. “What if we fight?”

“Married couples fight,” he offered.

She blinked, startled by the M word. “You want to get married?”

He pulled back slightly. “Yes. That’s what I’m asking. Marriage.” He seemed nervous and that touched Macie more than anything else. Edward was always so confident, so powerful, and able to bend the world to his purposes. But he was nervously offering her marriage? Wow!

“But what if those fights become mean?” she asked, trying not to get lost in the fantasy.

“We can work on not letting our fights become mean,” he countered. “We’re intelligent, educated adults. We both know how to speak to other human beings without causing each other harm with our words. Why can’t we apply that knowledge to a marriage?”

She thought about that for a long moment, chewing on her lower lip.

“What about Kyle?” she blurted, even though she wasn’t actually concerned about their son. Bringing him up was just an excuse to give herself time to think.

“What about Kyle? He’s our son. He’ll be with us forever anyway. Why not join forces to raise him to be a responsible, productive member of society?”

She rolled her eyes. “I meant, what about Kyle and…everything else?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know what ‘everything else’ means, Macie. I’m just a guy who is forgetting every vow I ever made about personal relationships here. You’re going to have to spell things out for me.”

The fact that Edward was nervous charmed her. She stepped closer, putting her hands on his chest. “You’re terrified of marriage, aren’t you?”

“Absolutely petrified,” he admitted, wrapping his arms around her. “But I’m even more petrified of living without you. I did it over the past year, but now, I can’t imagine not waking up with you in my arms, with you smiling at me, and making every damn moment of life better and more exciting.”

“Now, that’s a decent proposal!” she declared.

“Do you think that you can move beyond your past and figure out how to not obliterate positivity?”

Macie thought about that, tilting her head to the side. Then she nodded. “Yes. You’re right. We’re two highly intelligent people. There has to be a way to make this work. We don’t need to be controlled by our parents any longer.”

“And kids?”

She smiled at him with desire shining through her green eyes. “What about kids?”

“I want more. I love Kyle. He’s absolutely incredible.”

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